Pharrell, Robin Thicke Lose First Legal Battle Against Marvin Gaye’s Family

Pharrell and Robin Thicke have lost the first legal battle against Marvin Gaye’s family in the ongoing “Blurred Lines” dispute, Spin reports. Judge John Kronstadt has ruled that a team of music experts “made a sufficient showing that elements of ‘Blurred Lines’ may be substantially similar to protected, original elements of [Marvin Gaye's] ‘Got to Give It Up.’ Defendants have identified these with particularity for purposes of analytic dissection.”

The lawsuit in question is concerned with who can legally claim ownership of the smash-hit “Blurred Lines”. In order to preemptively protect themselves, Thicke, Pharrell and T.I. filed a countersuit against Gaye’s family and Bridgeport Music (who previously sued them for “brazen copying“) in an attempt to distinguish between capturing a genre’s sound and flat-out copying another artist. “Being reminiscent of a ‘sound’ is not copyright infringement,” the lawsuit claimed. “The intent in producing ‘Blurred Lines’ was to evoke an era.” They added: “Gaye defendants are claiming ownership of an entire genre, as opposed to a specific work.”

Marvin Gaye’s family allegedly declined Robin Thicke’s six-figure settlement offer in the “Blurred Lines” dispute, while Sony/ATV settled with Marvin Gaye’s family privately.

Due to Judge Kronstadt’s rulings, the proceedings will continue, with a trial scheduled for February 10, 2015.

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